News Corp has sold the Dow Jones Local Media Group, which operates 33 publications, including 8 daily and 15 weekly newspapers, to Fortress Investment Group.
The Dow Jones Local Media Group daily newspaper franchises include the Times Herald-Record (Middletown, NY); Cape Cod Times (Hyannis, MA); The Record (Stockton, CA); The Standard-Times (New Bedford, MA); The Pocono Record (Stroudsburg, PA); The Herald (Portsmouth, NH); The Mail Tribune (Medford, OR), and The Daily Tidings (Ashland, OR). In addition to daily and weekly newspapers, the Dow Jones Local Media Group operates other print and online community media, including web sites, magazines as well as news and advertising niche publications. Then group is based in Middletown, NY (www.dowjoneslmg.com).
“These newspapers share a strong tradition of service in their communities and a highly talented staff,” said Robert Thomson, Chief Executive of News Corp. “We are confident that the papers will prosper under the new owners, but they were not strategically consistent with the emerging portfolio of the new News.”
The Dow Jones Local Media Group operations will be managed by GateHouse Media, one of the largest publishers of locally based print and online media in the United States with a portfolio of products that includes over 400 community publications and approximately 350 related websites.
Fortress Investment Group is a global investment firm with over $53 billion in assets under management. Fortress manages assets on behalf of over 1,400 institutional clients and private investors worldwide across a range of investment strategies — private equity, credit, liquid hedge funds and traditional fixed income. The firm was founded in 1998 and is based in New York (www.fortress.com).
Waller Capital Partners, an independent investment bank focused on the telecommunications, media and technology sectors, advised Dow Jones on the sale of the Local Media Group.
© 2013 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 9-4-13